Walter A. Craig Center for Palliative Care
Walter A. Craig Center for Palliative Care
There is more to medical care than treatments to prevent or cure disease. Improving your quality of life is as important to us as the success of your treatment. At Providence Mission Hospital, our palliative care department is an integral part of our commitment to care for our patients in body, mind and spirit.
Palliative care provides comfort and compassionate care for seriously ill patients by easing symptoms, while maintaining the highest possible quality of life. It is for adults of any age, at any stage of illness, whether that illness is curable, chronic or life-threatening.
Palliative care focuses on comfort for the patient while reassuring loved ones (family and friends) that they are receiving the most extensive and extraordinary care to help minimize pain and symptoms while participating in day-to-day activities.
Palliative care supports your treatment choices, anticipating your needs while proactively treating symptoms that may arise to help you maintain your quality of life. Our palliative care team works with your current health care providers to create a comprehensive treatment plan to alleviate pain and symptoms.
Palliative care relieves and treats symptoms including:
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Shortness of breath
- Nausea
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Difficulty sleeping
- Depression
- Loss of appetite
Palliative care provides emotional and spiritual support to patients and their loved ones when making difficult decisions regarding treatment options. The team also coordinates care and communication between health care providers.
Palliative care will work to preserve your choices and clarify your values and wishes while in or out of the hospital. Furthermore, we accommodate Advanced Health Care Planning, Health Directives and POLST forms, and coordinate interdisciplinary meetings to establish goals of care.
We encourage you to ask your doctor to refer you for a palliative care consultation. Once an order for a consultation has been received, our team will collaborate with your physician to schedule an appointment for you. You do not have to give up your current health care providers. The palliative care team will work to create a comprehensive treatment plan with you and your current health care team.
The Walter A. Craig Center for Palliative Care offers both inpatient and outpatient services.
- Outpatient clinic visits at the Leonard Cancer Institute, Suite 460
- Telehealth visits
- Inpatient consultations if you are hospitalized at Providence Mission Hospital